What military support does the US provide to Israel?
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[April 08, 2024]
By Patricia Zengerle
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza has prompted
calls for Washington to put conditions on the billions of dollars in
military funding and other assistance it provides to Israel, which has
received more U.S. foreign aid since World War Two than any other
country.
The following are details of U.S. support for Israel as it fights Hamas
militants in Gaza.
WHAT AID IS MANDATED BY LAW?
In 2016, the U.S. and Israeli governments signed a third 10-year
Memorandum of Understanding, covering the period from Oct. 1, 2018 to
Sept. 30, 2028. The MOU provides a total of $38 billion in military aid
over the 10 years, $33 billion in grants to buy military equipment and
$5 billion for missile defense systems.
WHAT ADVANCED WEAPONS SYSTEMS DOES ISRAEL GET?
Israel is the first international operator of the F-35 Joint Strike
Fighter, considered the most technologically advanced fighter jet ever
made. Israel is in the processes of buying 75 F-35s and - as of last
year - had taken delivery of 36, paying for them with U.S. assistance.
The United States has also helped Israel develop and arm its Iron Dome
short-range rocket defense system, developed after the 2006 war between
Israel and Lebanon-based Hezbollah. The United States has repeatedly
sent Israel hundreds of millions of dollars to help replenish its
interceptor missiles.
Washington has also helped fund the development of Israel's "David's
Sling" system, designed to shoot down rockets fired from 100 kilometers
to 200 km (62 miles to 124 miles) away.
WILL ISRAEL GET MORE FOR ITS CAMPAIGN AGAINST HAMAS?
Last year, President Joe Biden asked Congress to approve a $95 billion
supplemental spending bill that included $14 billion for Israel, in
addition to $60 billion for Ukraine, support for Taiwan and billions in
humanitarian assistance.
That package passed the Senate with 70% support in February but has been
blocked in the House, whose Republican leaders will not call it up for a
vote, largely because of their objection to further funding for Ukraine.
It also faces resistance from a handful of left-leaning Democrats who
object to sending more money to Israel while it pursues a military
campaign that has killed more than 30,000 civilians in Gaza, according
to Palestinian health officials.
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Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets launched
from the Gaza Strip, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and
the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, as seen from Ashkelon, Israel,
January 15, 2024. REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo
HOW ELSE DOES WASHINGTON SUPPORT ISRAEL?
The United States has long used its veto power on the U.N. Security
Council to block resolutions seen as critical of Israel. Earlier in
the six-month-long war in Gaza, it vetoed measures that included
calls for an immediate ceasefire.
To pass in the Security Council, a resolution needs at least nine
votes in favor and no veto by the U.S., France, Britain, Russia or
China.
Late last month, Washington dropped its traditional protection of
Israel by abstaining from a vote on a resolution demanding a
ceasefire, instead of casting a veto, although it described the
brief text as 'non-binding.'
Washington has taken Israel's side elsewhere. Former Republican
President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the world's
most important human rights body, the U.N. Human Rights Council, in
protest of its criticism of Israel's treatment of Palestinians.
Also under Trump, it left the United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization, partly because of what his administration
called a bias against Israel.
Trump also reversed decades of U.S. policy in 2017 by recognizing
Jerusalem as Israel's capital. The status of Jerusalem - home to
sites holy to the Muslim, Jewish and Christian religions - has been
one of the biggest obstacles to reaching a peace agreement between
Israel and the Palestinians.
(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Additional reporting by Mike Stone;
Editing by Don Durfee and Bill Berkrot)
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